AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 2615 - Social Inclusion Remains our Prime Focus

In 2009, I became extremely concerned with the concept of Unique Identity for various reasons. Connected with many like minded highly educated people who were all concerned.

On 18th May 2010, I started this Blog to capture anything and everything I came across on the topic. This blog with its million hits is a testament to my concerns about loss of privacy and fear of the ID being misused and possible Criminal activities it could lead to.

In 2017 the Supreme Court of India gave its verdict after one of the longest hearings on any issue. I did my bit and appealed to the Supreme Court Judges too through an On Line Petition.

In 2019 the Aadhaar Legislation has been revised and passed by the two houses of the Parliament of India making it Legal. I am no Legal Eagle so my Opinion carries no weight except with people opposed to the very concept.

In 2019, this Blog now just captures on a Daily Basis list of Articles Published on anything to do with Aadhaar as obtained from Daily Google Searches and nothing more. Cannot burn the midnight candle any longer.

"In Matters of Conscience, the Law of Majority has no place"- Mahatma Gandhi

Ram Krishnaswamy

Sydney, Australia.

Aadhaar

The UIDAI has taken two successive governments in India and the entire world for a ride. It identifies nothing. It is not unique. The entire UID data has never been verified and audited. The UID cannot be used for governance, financial databases or anything. It’s use is the biggest threat to national security since independence. – Anupam Saraph 2018

When I opposed Aadhaar in 2010 , I was called a BJP stooge. In 2016 I am still opposing Aadhaar for the same reasons and I am told I am a Congress die hard. No one wants to see why I oppose Aadhaar as it is too difficult. Plus Aadhaar is FREE so why not get one ? Ram Krishnaswamy

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.-Mahatma Gandhi

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.Mahatma Gandhi

“The invasion of privacy is of no consequence because privacy is not a fundamental right and has no meaning under Article 21. The right to privacy is not a guaranteed under the constitution, because privacy is not a fundamental right.” Article 21 of the Indian constitution refers to the right to life and liberty -Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi

“There is merit in the complaints. You are unwittingly allowing snooping, harassment and commercial exploitation. The information about an individual obtained by the UIDAI while issuing an Aadhaar card shall not be used for any other purpose, save as above, except as may be directed by a court for the purpose of criminal investigation.”-A three judge bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar said in an interim order.

Legal scholar Usha Ramanathan describes UID as an inverse of sunshine laws like the Right to Information. While the RTI makes the state transparent to the citizen, the UID does the inverse: it makes the citizen transparent to the state, she says.

Good idea gone bad
I have written earlier that UID/Aadhaar was a poorly designed, unreliable and expensive solution to the really good idea of providing national identification for over a billion Indians. My petition contends that UID in its current form violates the right to privacy of a citizen, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. This is because sensitive biometric and demographic information of citizens are with enrolment agencies, registrars and sub-registrars who have no legal liability for any misuse of this data. This petition has opened up the larger discussion on privacy rights for Indians. The current Article 21 interpretation by the Supreme Court was done decades ago, before the advent of internet and today’s technology and all the new privacy challenges that have arisen as a consequence.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP Rajya Sabha

“What is Aadhaar? There is enormous confusion. That Aadhaar will identify people who are entitled for subsidy. No. Aadhaar doesn’t determine who is eligible and who isn’t,” Jairam Ramesh

But Aadhaar has been mythologised during the previous government by its creators into some technology super force that will transform governance in a miraculous manner. I even read an article recently that compared Aadhaar to some revolution and quoted a 1930s historian, Will Durant.Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha MP

“I know you will say that it is not mandatory. But, it is compulsorily mandatorily voluntary,” Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Saba April 2017.

August 24, 2017: The nine-judge Constitution Bench rules that right to privacy is “intrinsic to life and liberty”and is inherently protected under the various fundamental freedoms enshrined under Part III of the Indian Constitution

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World; indeed it's the only thing that ever has"

“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” -Edward Snowden

In the Supreme Court, Meenakshi Arora, one of the senior counsel in the case, compared it to living under a general, perpetual, nation-wide criminal warrant.

Had never thought of it that way, but living in the Aadhaar universe is like living in a prison. All of us are treated like criminals with barely any rights or recourse and gatekeepers have absolute power on you and your life.

Announcing the launch of the # BreakAadhaarChainscampaign, culminating with events in multiple cities on 12th Jan. This is the last opportunity to make your voice heard before the Supreme Court hearings start on 17th Jan 2018. In collaboration with @no2uidand@rozi_roti.

UIDAI's security seems to be founded on four time tested pillars of security idiocy

1) Denial

2) Issue fiats and point finger

3) Shoot messenger

4) Bury head in sand.

God Save India

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

2615 - Social Inclusion Remains our Prime Focus - eGov

Social Inclusion Remains our Prime Focus

June 4, 2012 | Also view articles in: Current Issue,June 2012

“Aadhaar is an initiative, which will give a unique identity to residents, especially the marginalised, so that they can benefit from an array of social welfare schemes designed for them. This remains our prime focus area as we embark on the second phase of enrolments, which will cover 40 crore more residents,” says RS Sharma, Director General & Mission Director, UIDAI

RS Sharma, Director General & Mission Director, UIDA I

After achieving the 20-crore-enrolments target for the first phase much before the deadline, the UIDAI plans to achieve its present target of 40-crore- enrolments, by the next 18 months. The first phase was a fantastic learning experience for us. Based on this experience, we have formulated a ‘refresh- strategy’, which aims at making the entire process, from enrolment till delivery of Aadhaar letter, more stringent and quality-oriented. We have managed to iron out all the inconsistencies in order to ensure that the second phase is managed better. This gives us confidence that the residents will not find a reason to complain.

The Refresh Strategy
According to the refresh strategy of the UIDAI, the Authority would now perform quality checks at every stage, from enrolments to the delivery of Aadhaar letter to resident. Dataentry errors at the time of enrolments shall be reduced to nil, with the help of technological and administrative checks. Also on cards are heavy penalties, for enrolment agencies who digress from the laid-out and approved process.

Other highlights of this strategy are continuation of enrolments through the multiregistrars model, sweep approach to cover maximum number of residents of district/state, and stringent review of master data for pin code validation. In a bid to improve the overall experience of a resident, the UIDAI plans to promote online appointments for enrolments in the second phase, apart from setting up permanent enrolment stations at district/taluka level in States/Union Territories that have covered majority of their population.

The key rationale for Aadhaar is to provide a real-time online verifiable identity to the residents of India, in a bid to create transparent service/ benefit delivery architecture in the country.

A major highlight of the second phase shall be the Aadhaar-enabled service delivery, as part of which eligible residents shall be able to access services and benefits with the help of their Aadhaar identity. UIDAI technology shall offer authentication of your identity even through a mobile phone. Within seconds you shall be able to establish that you are, who you claim to be, you are.

Positive impacts of technology
Technology has positively affected the Indian society. Like the case of Internet Banking and online railway reservation, which, in terms of utility, have got a thumbs-up from the masses. Likewise, would the resident not be happy if their identity is authenticated remotely, without residents fearing for its theft? Aadhaar simply aims at development of the country and this driving force shall be seen more assertively in the second phase of enrolments.

We have initiated pilot studies in various parts of the country to test how Aadhaar can be used as a platform of providing benefits to residents who are entitled to it. Some of the schemes being administered using Aadhaar as an enabler are: MNREGS payments, LPG distribution, monthly ration through PDS including kerosene.

The UIDAI is leaving nothing to chance and aims at setting a global benchmark for identities’ database management. Considering its past record and the access to technology it has, the Authority promises better results as it steps into the second phase of enrolments in the country.